Regulator for time-instruments



March 26, 1935. D. s. INGRAHAM REGULATOR FOR TME INSTRUMENTS Filed Jan.6, 1954 @gli Patented Mar. 26, 1935 PATENT OFFICE REGULATOR FORTIME-INSTRUMENTS Dudley S. Ingraham, Bristol, Conn., assignor to TheE.,Ingraham Company, Bristol, Conn., a

corporation Application January 6,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in time-instruments, and moreparticularly to improvements in regulators for time-instruments.

Heretofore, in time-instruments of the marine or lever-movement type, inwhich the regulator has an arm or finger provided with a slot foradjustably engaging the hairspring, there has been considerable troublefrom the hairspring fouling or becoming caught over the regulator-armwhen the time-instrument has been subjected to severe shocks or jarswhich cause the hairspring to surge widely out of its normal positionand have one or more of its coils become fouled or hooked over theregulator-arm, thereby causing the time-instrument to become` soinaccurate in its timekeeping qualities as to be substantially uselessrmtil the hairspring has been returned to its normal position. Manyattempts have been made in the long history of the time-instrument artto overcome this difficulty and, while a certain degree of success hasbeen attained, up to the present invention having been devised, nocompletely satisfactory solution of this problem has been accomplished.n

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedregulator construction in which the tendency of the hairspring to foulor catch on the regulator-arm is entirely eliminated. To this end, animproved construction is provided 30 in which the regulator-arm of theregulator is extended toward the balance-wheel at least as far as theadjacent face of the balance-wheel.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention includes theimproved features and combinations of features disclosed in thefollowing description, appended claims and accompanying drawing forminga part of this specification.

In the accompanying drawing, in which one way of carrying out theinvention is shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a movement of a time-instrument made inaccordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a regulator made in accordance with thepresent invention.

Referring to the drawing, a movement l0 of an alarm clock isillustrated. This movement comprises front and rear movement-plates 11and 12 respectively joined by pillars 13 in a usual and well-knownmanner. The balance-wheel 14 is rigidly secured to a balance-staff 15,which 1934, Serial No. 705,527

latter is pivotally mounted in pivot-bearings 16 and 17 in a usualmanner. The balance-staff 15 carries the hairspring 18, which has one ofits coils or turns 19 extending through a slot 20 of the regulator-armor finger 21, which latter forms part of the regulator 22. Theregulatorarm or finger 21 has an extension 23 which extends toward thebalance-wheel at least as far as the plane of the adjacent face 24 ofthe balance-wheel 14, and preferably extends a substantial distancebeyond the balance-wheel, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the constructions which have heretofore been devised, theregulator-arm has not extended as far as the plane of the adjacent faceof the balance-wheel, in consequence of which the hairspring 18, whichis exceedingly ne, flexible and composed of many coils or turns, hasfrequently had one or more of its coils fouled or caught over the endsof such regulators by passing between the end of the regulator and theadjacent face of the balance-wheel when the time-instrument has beensubjected to a severe shock or jar sufficient to cause thehairspring-coils to surge or swing violently away from the plane theynormally occupy, and down toward and into engagement with the face ofthe balance-wheel, as well as having a side-thrust action enabling themto pass between the balance-wheel and regulatorarm to hook over or foulupon the same.

After much diculty and futile efforts to overcome this difficulty whichhas existed in the art for many years, applicant finally devised theapparently simple idea of extending the regulator-arm to a position atleast to the plane of the adjacent face of the balance-wheel, so as toprovide no space sufficient even for the fine hairspring 18 to getbetween the regulatorarm and the balance-wheel, thus providing aconstruction which has completely eliminated this troublesome dilculty.

The invention may be carried out in other specic ways than that hereinset forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiment istherefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A time-instrument including: a pivotallymounted balance-wheel; ahairspring operatively connected to said balance-wheel to oscillate thesame; and a regulator mounted at one side of said balance-wheel andhaving a regulater-arm adjustably engaging said hairspring; saidregulator-arm having a free extension eX- tending from the free end ofthe regulator-arm and at least to the plane of the adjacent face of saidbalance-Wheel so as to prevent fouling of the hairspring on the endofthe regulator-arm or its extension.

2. A time-instrument including: a pivotallymounted balance-Wheel; ahairspring operatively connected to said balance-wheel to oscillate thesame; and a regulator mounted at one side of said balance-Wheel andhaving a regulatorarm adjustably engaging said hairspring; saidregulator-arm having a free extension extending from the free end of theregulator-arm and vat least to the plane of the adjacent face of saidbalance-Wheel adjacent the periphery of the latter so as to preventfouling of the hairspring on the end of the regulator-arm or itsextension.

3. Ay time-instrument including: a pivotallymounted balance-Wheel; ahairspring operative- 1y connected to said balance-Wheel to oscillatethe saine; and a regulator mounted at one side of said balance-Wheel andhaving a regulator-arm adjustably engaging said hairspring; saidregulator-arm having a free extension extending from the free end of thearm away from the pivot axis and to and beyond the plane of the adjacentface of said balance-Wheel so as to prevent fouling of the hairspring onthe end of the regulator-arm or its extension.

4. A time-instrument including: a pivotallymounted balance-Wheel; ahairspring operatively connected to said balance-Wheel to oscillate thesame; and arregulator mounted at one side of said balance-wheel andhaving a regulatorarm adjustably engaging said hairspring; saidregulator-arm having an extension extending to and beyond the plane ofthe adjacent face of said balance-Wheel adjacent the periphery of thelatter.

DUDLEY s. -INGRAHAM

